The present invention relates to an exchangeable contact unit and an inspection jig such as a probe card which are used for inspecting electrical performance of a semiconductor integrated circuit, for example.
An inspection jig such as a probe card which is used for inspecting electrical performance of a semiconductor integrated circuit includes a main board, and a flexible board which is bonded to the main board by soldering or so. The flexible board is provided with a contact part which is adapted to be contacted with an electrode of an object to be inspected (a wafer, for example). The flexible board is urged toward the object to be inspected from a back side of the contact part by means of a spring, thereby to be supplied with a contact force against the object to be inspected. The probe card having the above described structure is sometimes called as the probe card of a membrane type.
On occasion of inspecting the electrical performance, electric signals at high frequency are transmitted between the inspection jig and the inspection apparatus (a tester) by way of a coaxial cable. The inspection jig is provided with a coaxial connector for detachably connecting the coaxial cable which is extended from the tester. The coaxial connector is electrically connected to the flexible board by soldering or so, and is fixed (bonded) to the main board by soldering or so.
After contacts of about one million times, for example, have been repeated, the contact part of the flexible board wears, and the flexible board must be exchanged. In case where the flexible board and the main board are soldered to each other, the solder must be removed, when the flexible board is detached from the main board. Therefore, it requires technical skill and time to exchange the flexible board. JP-A-2001-208777 discloses such an art that a membrane assembly (the flexible board) in the probe card of a membrane type having a bump to come into contact with a pad of a wafer, which is the object to be inspected, can be easily exchanged.
The coaxial connector is not referred to, in JP-A-2001-208777. In case where the coaxial connector is fixed to the main board, and electrical connection between the flexible board and the coaxial connector is performed by pressure contact between the main board and the flexible board, exchange of the flexible board can be easily carried out. However, in this case, the electrical performance of the pressure contacted part is remarkably deteriorated.